I have a Dell Optiplex GX 240, the CD-ROM in question is a LG CRD-8240B.
I have Mandrake 9.1 and Windows XP(for games ) installed in a dual boot setup.

Anyway I was trying to update from Mandrake 9.1 to 9.2 and choose the update alternative and while it was "rebuilding the RPM database" a power failure occurred.

Then when I'm able to boot up again it gives me the message (after the BIOS load up, which is slower then usual):


Secondary hard disk drive 0 not found
Secondary hard disk drive 1 not found
Strike the F1 key to continue, F2 to enter the setup utility

Striking F1 makes the system proceed like usual, and I can log in to Mandrake 9.1 or Windows XP, which are the OSes I have installed previously.

Now when logging in to Mandrake 9.1 again I can only use my secondary DVD/CD burner (a LiteON) and I can't access the contents of the LG CD-ROM as it won't open(and so I can't get a hold of my Man 9.2 install CD which is trapped inside). XP can't find the CD-ROM either

I have tried to reinstall Mandrake9.1 but this does not help, nor does installing the drivers manually help.

What should I do to get my CD back and make my CD-ROM work again?

You are describing a hardware problem. If the drive lights work, like the drive is working, then it could be an issue with the chipset! (New motherboard)
If the lights don't work, then the drive is gone. (new drive)

What bothers me is the bios reporting that it can't find the drives. Could be a bios problem. Try a bios flash (could be trouble) or replace the bios.

I tried to add a different CD-ROM that I looted from another computer.
And everything works fine now, seems like my CD is as dead as a stone. :(

Good! That was the easiest of the options. :wink:

Heh, 'twas a bit hard to get the intstall CD out of the dead CD-ROM though.

But anyway, thank you for all the kind help! (This is why I love the Linux communety)

This is an established problem which seems to circle around certain LG drives. Go to Mandrake's site and report it with as much information as you can give them about the faulty drive. They're still trying to isolate the problem.

You are like so screwed. :(
From Mandrakes errata page...
http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/errata.php3#badlg

Error scenario: Installing 9.2 and being told unable to install the base system and subsequent reboot reveals that CD-ROM is physically dead.

Why: According to LG Electronics, their ODD (Optical Disc Drive) products do not support Linux nor do they test with Linux. Unfortunately, many Dell computers (possibly others) come with these CD-ROM drives.

Solution: Currently there is no solution or work-around for this issue; it is still under investigation. Damage occurs even when doing a network install. At this point, please do not install Mandrake Linux 9.2 on any computer containing a LG-based CD-ROM or it will damage your CD-ROM! We are actively looking for a solution to this problem.

This is interesting! I installed 9.2 on my test machine a while back, which uses an LG 48x cd writter and had no problems whatever with the drive that I know of. However there were other problems that annoyed me so much I put 9.1 back on after a while. I think I will wait until the bugs are worked out before touching 9.2 again. Good luck. :?

While I want to immediately blame Mandrake for this oddity, I must confess that I am curious as to why a particular cdrom device would be affected this way. Why aren't all cdrom devices burnrd up? Are we seeing a windex only move in a cdrom device? Gates wants the hardware market in order to complete his grand plan. Has LG become a gates robot? Instead of leaving linux, I'm not using any LG devices in my computers.

Ixthusdan, I'm a bit confused since Mandrakes install notes do not specify if this problem only affects READERS or RW as well. I only know that I currently use LG CDRW drives in 2 systems under Mandrake 9.1 with flawless results. However, I must agree with you that I would not tempt fate by attempting to use an any LG drive with Mandrake 9.2 now that I've read that information!

That's why it is important to report which models work and which do not. Mandrake will tell us what is going on, which LG is not going to do. :wink:

I use LG drives, DVD-ROMs and CD-RW writers. I would not attempt fate by installing mdk9.2 either I do know that someone is going to have to fix these dead drives and it does appear to be an LG bug so far anyway. LG drives can be 'flashed' to upgrade the firmware so I am assuming they will release a program to fix this. Otherwise Mandrake would be liable and I personally would not be happy that I'd have to buy another CD/DVD drive. Anyway keep an eye out for a firmware upgrade.